This fund provides scholarships to students who are enrolled in the College of Engineering and majoring in biomedical engineering.
Bio of scholarship donor, Stan Rittgers, received August 2025.
When I began my undergraduate education [1964], there was no such thing as ‘Biomedical Engineering’, only a few individuals working g on medically related projects but based in one of the traditional engineering disciplines. So, when enrolled in Mechanical Engineering at the State University of Buffalo, I gained additional Math and Science skills but never felt that the usual ME careers were sufficiently challenging or intriguing for long-term commitment. My advisor, Dr. Robert Mates, however, was doing some modeling in Cardiovascular disease and that got me to take a Biology elective in my Senior year. While it was quite different from engineering in content and instruction, it did seem fascinating to work on a ‘machine’ that was dynamic, adaptive, self-repairing and, of all things, reproductive!
So, the next year [1968], I enrolled in a M.S. BME degree program at Case Western Reserve University (one of only a handful of such options). Unknown to me at the time was that the curriculum was changed that summer to requiring us to attend 1st year Medical School in place of the usual departmental classes on Anatomy, Physiology, etc. While this made sense theoretically, it was a real shock for us attending as we had taken no pre-requisites for this nor had ever contemplated the possibility. However, despite the intensity and pressure of this experience (including taking all of their exams like a regular Med student), I did learn a great deal, including how physicians are trained and the nature of their education – i.e.. Data driven vs. General laws. Just as importantly, I also learned how to speak their ‘language’ which was invaluable in later working with Physicians.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to finish my degree then due to the Vietnam War and the need to enter military service (U.S. Air Force). Once completed [1973], however, I resumed my Graduate work at The Ohio State University since I’d been able to take several remote courses while stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton. Biomedical Engineering was still a Program there but I was able to work with faculty in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering (Dr. Robert Nerem, Advisor) as well as Clinicians in the Department of Cardiology to complete both my M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in the area of cardiovascular disease.
The next year [1978], I began work at the VA Hospital in Richmond, Va, with Dr. Robert Barnes on developing noninvasive techniques for diagnosing vascular disease. This resulted in several new procedures, especially for detecting carotid artery disease. I was also asked to help establish a BME Department at Virginia Commonwealth University in conjunction with their Medical College. From there, I later transferred to the University of Akron where I continued to work on Vascular related diseases at both the University and area hospitals, retiring in 2010.